


Human Nature

by pprfaith



Series: Wishlist 2009 [6]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Genre: Canon Typical Violence, Gen, and murder, angsty, old fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-01
Updated: 2015-11-01
Packaged: 2018-04-29 09:00:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5122496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pprfaith/pseuds/pprfaith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Latin among colleagues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Human Nature

**Author's Note:**

> Amie requested CSI: Las Vegas/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy/Nick, _A Latin Phrase._ \- I didn’t use the one you suggested, sorry.
> 
> 2009 repost.

+

“Beer?” Nick asks as he veers off to place their order after a long, hard day. 

She shakes her head, hesitates and then requests, “Something stronger, please.”

He nods, raps his knuckles on the table once and goes, leaving her staring into space. They both just pulled a double shift to solve the murder of a teenaged girl. It was no different than any other case Nick’s worked over the years. Not really. Except for the girl’s age. Kids are always the hardest to deal with. 

But he doesn’t think that’s what’s got Summers so down. She hasn’t been with them all that long and Nick doesn’t really think she’ll stay. Not because the job’s too hard for her, but because she doesn’t give the impression of staying anywhere very long. 

She comes and goes.

And last night she came to a murder scene and found a sixteen-year-old girl cut to pieces, empty blue eyes staring at her. He told her not to look, but she did, brushing a strand of hair out of the victim’s eyes. Like she wasn’t so much meat. 

Then she flung herself headfirst into the investigation, never stopping and Nick joined her because he was a bit scared about the intensity she showed.

Now, fifteen hours later, they know what killed Lisa Marlow. Her classmates, kids just like her. Only that Lisa wore a lot of black and said strange things. She scared them, alienated them and for that she was killed.

Nick reaches the bar and places his order, adding a second whiskey to it as an afterthought. Maybe something stronger isn’t such a bad idea. The barkeeper works quickly, having little other business so early in the day and before long, he’s on his way back to Buffy with two glasses in one hand and a beer in the other.

He places it all on the table, sits down and orders, “Drink up.”

She snickers listlessly and takes a deep drink that should leave her spluttering but doesn’t seem to phase her. After a minute of silence Nick finds the words to say, “Look, I know this was a bad one, but you can’t let it get too close.”

She pats him arm, like he’s the one that needs reassurance. “Damnant quod non intellegunt,” she tells him, sipping her drink.

“Huh?”

“It’s Latin,” Summers explains, “It means, ‘They condemn what they don’t understand’. That girl is dead because she was different. No other reason.”

“Humans are cruel,” he supplies, because it’s all the explanation he has.

She puts down her glass, taps her nail against it once and nods, “Exactly. So why do we save them?”

Save them? It’s news to Nick that they save people. Usually they just clean up after the act, wash away all the ugliness and hate and desperation. They rarely save anyone. 

“Save them?”

She jumps a bit, looking at him like she’s seeing him for the first time. 

“Forget it,” she says and sounds like someone cancelled Christmas. He watches her for a minute longer but she doesn’t so much as move a muscle. No explanation. Just the palpable disappointment pouring off her and the ghost of a dead girl sitting on her shoulder.

They condemn what they don’t understand. He wonders who condemned her and then shakes his head. He’s reading too much into this. Maybe it’s time they went home and got some sleep.

It’s been a long day.

+


End file.
